Tellwell's aim is to celebrate words and creativity while enriching our social fabric by helping authors tell their stories well; therefore, when it comes to the content of the manuscripts we publish, a full spectrum is represented. It is not in our interest to be restrictive or prohibitive, although there are certainly some areas in which we draw a line. This is not only to preserve our values and integrity as a company but also to maintain a reputation and publishing environment that our past, current and future authors can have confidence in.
Just because your book may contain graphic or "uncomfortable" content does not mean that Tellwell will refuse to publish it. That said, if any of the following dominate the content of your manuscript, Tellwell may decline to engage with it for publication:
- Explicit and/or gratuitous sex or violence with no literary merit (if there are underage characters the threshold for merit is much higher)
- Erotica and/or obscene pornographic material with no storyline
- Content that in our opinion may violate someone's privacy rights
- Libellous content
- Hate speech
- Any other content that Tellwell in our sole discretion chooses not to publish
If Tellwell decides not to publish a book, we will provide a refund for all uncompleted services.
If you're uncertain and would like a professional opinion, a Tellwell editor would be happy to assess the content during an editorial evaluation.
Please also note that aside from the types of content listed above, each print-on-demand and eBook distribution channel will also have their own content policies, and these companies reserve the right to block publication at their discretion. You can find a partial list of types of content that may cause a title to be blocked from publication on one or more distribution channels here.
For further information, refer to Section 9 of Tellwell's Terms & Conditions.
Related article:
What is an editorial evaluation?